Three Cities, One Weekend, Cambodia

Lying down on a wooden beach chair in Sihanoukville, I felt content for the first time in many months.

I had just completed an action-packed three-day weekend in December that saw me experience a gamut of emotions and I made a solemn vow to make travelling an integral part of my life.

Arriving on Friday, I spent the night walking along Sisowath Quay; flags of all the countries with diplomatic ties to the nation unfurled in the wind, reminding me of how little of the world I had seen.

The next morning, I took a bumpy tuk-tuk ride to S-21, the genocide museum. The audio guide brought tears to my eyes as I listened to the harrowing stories of many innocent civilians who had lost their lives under the tyrannical Khmer Rouge. I resolved to never forget that moment and I have even purchased a copy of the recording.

Via an overnight bus, I reached Siem Reap and witnessed Angkor Wat bathed in the light of the early morning sun. My Lonely Planet guide illumined me of the rich architectural history of the world heritage site - the respectful silence of the visitors around me signalled our collective awe for the determination of the human spirit that the massive temple seemed to embody.

As a busy working girl, I had to quickly jet off to Sihanoukville, a beach town, where I relaxed on the beach for the entirety of the night, exchanging tales with the inhabitants of the quaint inn by the shore.

One of them told me about his dream of wanting to learn from all the different religions of the world; another wanted to setup a self-sustaining business in the poorest of towns, packing up her bags as soon as she felt the locals could handle things on their own.

We live in a big and beautiful world. Most of us live and die in the same corner where we were born and never get to see any of it.

I resolved that night that I don't want to be like most people.

I guess you could call it a quarter-life crisis. I don't know what the question is but I knew it then for the first time that travelling was the answer.